On boxing.

2 fighters show true courage

November 19, 2003|By Michael Hirsley.

It was Manny Pacquaio's finest hour, fighting brilliantly in the biggest bout of his career. It was Marco Antonio Barrera's worst night in the ring, as Pacquaio beat him to the punch for most of 11 rounds Saturday night and knocked him down twice before Barrera's corner threw in the towel.

But both of these top featherweights, two of the toughest fighters in the current rankings, deserve a huge thank-you from boxing fans.

They did what is right for their sport by fighting each other instead of avoiding stiff competition while awaiting a title shot, something that boxing's three major sanctioning bodies are perfectly willing to permit.

The World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation don't do enough to encourage matchups such as Barrera-Pacquaio or the Vitali Klitschko vs. Kirk Johnson heavyweight bout scheduled for Dec. 6.

Instead, the sanctioning bodies' ranking systems disagree wildly on who the top contenders are. And thereby, they provide ample opportunities for the favorites of the various groups to avoid each other.

Pacquaio, the 122-pound IBF junior featherweight champion, opted to bypass any of the IBF's challengers and instead move up four pounds to featherweight to make a bigger statement and name for himself against Barrera.

That's exactly what happened as a result of his dominant performance Saturday in San Antonio against one of boxing's best. Although no WBA, WBO or IBF title belt was at stake, Pacquaio is now recognized by most boxing observers as the best of the featherweights. He wrested that title from Barrera, who had been declared the champion by the sport's respected periodical, Ring Magazine.

Why wasn't this consensus top matchup recognized as such by a major sanctioning body? Because Barrera gave up his WBC title belt long ago rather than pay what he believed were unreasonable sanctioning fees.

As for heavyweights Klitschko and Johnson, their slated matchup in New York's Madison Square Garden is another rarity in the current boxing scene: Two top contenders are actually risking their title chances by fighting each other.

Klitschko thought he might get a rematch against WBC champion Lennox Lewis after giving Lewis all he could handle in their June 21 brawl. Klitschko was ahead on points when the bout was stopped due to cuts near his eyes, resulting in a technical knockout victory for Lewis.

As for Johnson, he was training to fight Lewis when a torn chest muscle forced him to withdraw. Klitschko was his replacement.

Now that Lewis is non-committal about his future, Klitschko and Johnson deserve a respectful nod for risking their title aspirations against each other. Unfortunately, there is no assurance from the WBC that the winner gets the next shot at Lewis or gets the title if he chooses to retire.